Western Hemisphere

Belize (Total GHCS-State: $20,000)

Peace Corps ($20,000): FY 2010 GHCS-State-funded activities will contribute to Peace Corps Belize’s continued focus on youth development and the prevention of HIV infection among at-risk youth through the development of a Health and Family Life (HFLE) curriculum in schools. Peace Corps volunteers will continue to facilitate the training of teachers and youth peer educations in the effective use of HIV education, including the recently-completed Sex and Sexuality manual for primary level teachers, and will provide guidance to teachers as they implement and begin utilizing the Peace Corps Belize created Life Skills manual. Proposed activities will revolve around training teachers to use the new manual effectively in the classroom and decreasing the reluctance that surrounds teaching particular materials.

Brazil (Total GHCS-State: $1,300,000)

USAID ($800,000): The FY 2010 GHCS-State funds will be used to support the expansion of rapid HCT for MARPs in three selected sites in high-prevalence areas in Northeast, West-Central, and Southeast Brazil. Rapid testing will be offered in partnership with the National HIV/AIDS Department and state and municipal Secretaries of Health. USAID will pilot alternative testing sites like mobile units that will tour areas with concentrated populations of MARPs. MARPs will be encouraged to learn their HIV status through targeted communications campaigns. Campaigns will involve messaging in major social networking sites, information, education and communication materials, and outreach to hard-to-reach populations. Funds will also be used to continue a leadership development program targeted at youth living with HIV. USAID will support the National HIV/AIDS Department’s efforts to expand palliative care options to PLWHA, particularly through psychosocial support and increased connections with public health services.

HHS/CDC ($300,000): Funding for CDC will be used to implement effective behavioral intervention strategies for HIV prevention, building upon the experience of CDC Atlanta’s domestic HIV initiative for Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI). Specifically, HIV/AIDS prevention materials for three pilot projects involving MSM will be translated, adapted, and implemented by civil society organizations. CDC will continue collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS Department in developing guidelines, training, and monitoring throughout project implementation.

Finally, USAID and CDC will work together to provide facilitation and logistics support to U.S.-Brazil-Mozambique trilateral technical assistance cooperation to in order to strengthen the Mozambican response to its HIV/AIDS epidemic.

HHS/OGHA ($200,000): FY 2010 funding will be used to support the staffing of the Health Attaché, which serves as Program Coordinator by facilitating the development and implementation of a unified USG HIV/AIDS program for Brazil. This includes coordinating HIV/AIDS activities and programming and participating in setting program priorities and budget planning with colleagues in relevant implementing agencies, the host Government, OGAC, and the U.S. Embassy.

El Salvador (Total GHCS-State: $20,000)

Peace Corps ($20,000): With FY 2010 PEPFAR GHCS-State funds, Peace Corps El Salvador will continue training peer educators and health service providers in HIV/AIDS prevention activities, including an additional focus on Men as Partners (MAP). The MAP training program will provide techniques and information directed to young men at risk of HIV infection due to cultural factors, age, and a lack of prevention information. Training and practicum activities for MOH staff, teachers, and Peace Corps volunteers will be closely coordinated with the Pan American Social Market Organization (PASMO), Georgetown University Health Institute, and CARITAS International.

Honduras (Total GHCS-State: $1,000,000)

USAID ($570,000): Funds will be used to provide both financial and technical assistance to local NGOs to implement HIV prevention programs for MARPs, including expanding access to HCT for MARPs. USAID will also support social mobilization efforts to build capacity in MARP community leaders, in order to better identify and address the environmental and social factors that increase vulnerability to HIV infection. Special focus will be given to developing local organizational capacity for improved planning, administration, management, and implementation of HIV prevention programs. This technical assistance will continue to be highly coordinated with other HIV prevention programs in country, especially with existing funding from the Global Fund that aims to expand the MOH’s HIV/AIDS care and treatment program.

HHS/CDC ($175,000): Funds will be used to provide technical assistance to the Honduran MOH to strengthen epidemiological surveillance of the co-infection of HIV and tuberculosis (TB). CDC will provide assistance in the implementation of a case notification strategy at three health centers in the country. Technical assistance will be provided to develop software to enter and analyze TB/HIV data and to train MOH personnel in the appropriate and sustainable use of the system. Once established, an evaluation of the TB/HIV system will be conducted at the three health centers to identify gaps and to strengthen the program based on these findings.

DoD ($255,000): Funds will be used to strengthen the capacity of the Honduran military to plan, manage, and implement HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Prevention interventions will include BCC and the integration of HIV prevention into institutional training for military personnel. The provision of confidential HCT services within the military will be strengthened, and military-specific HIV policies that address stigma, discrimination, and gender norms will also be addressed. Opportunities to improve informed decision-making through planning for a behavioral sero-surveillance survey will also be pursued.

Latin American and the Caribbean Regional (Total GHCS-State: $1,088,000)

USAID ($1,088,000): In order to focus policymakers and program implementers on the major HIV/AIDS issues in the primarily concentrated epidemic in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC), the USAID LAC Regional Program will identify, document, and disseminate innovative programmatic HIV/AIDS practices on prevention, treatment, care and support in the region. This will include technical briefs, case studies, and other publications documenting key HIV/AIDS issues and programs in LAC. Areas of expanded focus in the next year include faith-based initiatives to support HIV prevention and care, support for PLWHA, and identifying and disseminating good programmatic practices with MARPs, including MSM, migrant populations, prisoners, and IDUs and non-injecting drug users. The USAID LAC Regional Program will continue to work in partnership with CDC and other partners to develop a Caribbean regional technical consultation on prevention with MARPs. As appropriate, South-to-South technical assistance will be facilitated. This work will help identify priorities for targeted regional technical assistance, capacity-building, program assessments, and knowledge management activities. The USAID LAC Regional Program will also continue to work with PAHO/WHO, the Global Health Workshop Alliance, and PEPFAR USG partners to expand the reach of the Human Resources for Health Action Framework (HAF) to develop and implement strategies for an effective and sustainable health workforce. New activities in additional countries will build on lessons learned from the successful implementation of the HAF in Peru. Additionally, USAID will work with the Caribbean Regional Operational Plan and the other partners to develop an HRH module for the model Belize Health Information System to create a health workforce information system that can be used to improve accuracy and availability of HRH data and inform better HRH decision-making. Finally, FY 2010 funding will help the USAID Bolivia mission to have a place at the table in order to strengthen relations with the National HIV/AIDS Program and the MOH. Activities will include: strengthening sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV/AIDS centers; collaborating with the Global Fund to develop behavior change strategies specifically for MSM and commercial sex workers (CSWs); update national norms; strengthening targeted VCT capacity and service delivery; strengthening laboratory capacity; and coordinating the design and implementation of specific behavioral studies with high risk groups. These FY 2010 funds will be administered by the LAC Bureau at USAID/W and coordinated with the USAID Mission in Peru, the Caribbean Regional Program mission in Barbados, the Central American regional program mission in Guatemala for the Belize activities, and with other USG partners.

Nicaragua (Total GHCS-State: $897,000)

USAID ($577,000): The use of these funds will focus on preventing transmission of HIV/AIDS from high-risk groups in Nicaragua. USAID will implement a new project, focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, including funding outreach and BCC activities targeting MARPs through a NGO network, improving the quality of and access to health services and NGOs coordination with the MOH, mainly for VCT. As the Global Fund has recently approved a proposal for Nicaragua, USAID will also provide technical assistance to the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) to improve implementation of the Global Fund programs and their complement to USG programs.

HHS/CDC ($300,000): These FY 2010 funds will be used to finalize and disseminate the results of the behavioral surveillance survey established with FY 2009 funding. CDC plans to provide technical and financial assistance to standardize approaches, protocols, and guidelines supporting first- and second-generation HIV/AIDS surveillance, including Behavioral Surveillance Surveys with biological markers (BSS +) in Nicaragua. CDC will also provide technical assistance to support national laboratories to increase HIV/TB/STI diagnostics and quality control and to develop integrated information systems for ART, TB/HIV co-infection, and STI and laboratory in coordination with other health programs.

Peace Corps ($20,000): Peace Corps Nicaragua has continued increasing the development of work plans and volunteer assignments to better address areas where there is an increasing need for the promotion of healthy sexual practices in vulnerable populations of youth. The activities will focus on prevention activities, including: developing regional workshops to train youth promoters and male health promoters; implementing volunteer activities support and a training program; developing training materials to enhance pre-service training and to celebrate World AIDS Day; and strengthening the role of Peace Corps Nicaragua’s cross-sector HIV/AIDS Task Force.

Peru (Total GHCS-State: $50,000)

Peace Corps ($50,000): Peace Corps Peru plans to use FY 2010 GHCS-State funding to continue its focus on raising awareness and promoting prevention trainings in three regional departments. Local health post workers, teachers, and youth leaders will be provided training on HIV/AIDS themes. Peace Corps volunteers will facilitate trainings and work with participants on designing and implementing small projects related to HIV/AIDS including awareness campaigns, developing teaching materials, and counseling at-risk youth groups. FY 2010 activities will build on the success of FY 2009 activities, which reached over 2,600 beneficiaries.